You're Leaking Money: Four Spending Habits That Are Quietly Draining Your Account

The good news is that if you know you are your own worst enemy when it comes to indulging in habits you know are less than fiscally responsible, there are some surprisingly simple ways to find at least a little bit of relief.

At Girlboss, we believe that financial self-awareness is the first step, and the second step is having an actual plan. Here are four places the money quietly goes, and what to do about each one.

You're Spending a Lot on Eating Out and Food Delivery

First of all: same. Sometimes I even put things in my DoorDash cart with no intention of ordering anything, because I am manifesting my ideal future.

Eating out and ordering in is high on the list of things that bleed us dry, in part because it is a cost that is easy to justify. One needs food in order to live, after all. But one does not need to have a cheeseburger delivered to the front door because it is drizzling outside.

There is no shame in treating yourself, but in order to keep those habits from running amok, Shannon McLay, founder and CEO of The Financial Gym, suggests integrating "no spend days" into your week, "just as you would schedule any workout class or exercise," she says. This means scheduling one or two days a week where you spend zero dollars and prep all your meals at home.

It is not a license to spend recklessly on the other days, of course. In order to realize those savings, you will still need to exercise some measure of restraint through the rest of the week. But setting those firm boundaries for one or two days can translate into significant savings over time. For more on building spending awareness, this guide to recession-proofing your finances has practical tools for tracking where the money actually goes.

You Can't Keep Your Mitts Off Your Savings

Setting money aside to put in a savings account is hard enough. Keeping said money actually in the savings account? Even harder. Pamela Capalad, financial planner and founder of Brunch and Budget, recommends circumventing the temptation of easy transfers between your savings and checking accounts by setting up an auto transfer from your checking account to a savings account at a different bank.

"I recently had a client do this, and she said she never even thinks about the money anymore, because it just disappears from her checking account. I recommend a high-yield savings account like Ally Bank, Amex Savings, or Marcus, so you can make a little bit of money on your savings, too."

She adds that while apps like Qapital and Oportun (formerly Digit) are great as micro-savings accounts, they are only a viable means of saving if you leave the money in the account. In order to do that, you need to have a clearly defined notion of what that money is for.

For a full walkthrough on building a fund you will actually leave alone, this piece on why saving is so hard is the most honest thing we have published on the topic.

You're Spending Money You Don't Have

This might sound a tad dramatic, but here is the thing about credit card companies: they want you to fail. Or at the very least, they want you to spend more than you can afford so that you are carrying a balance they can charge interest on every month. And while building credit as a consumer is necessary for down-the-line purchases like a car or a home, staying clear of debt that puts you underwater is easier said than done for a lot of us.

Turn on real-time purchase notifications in your banking app, and set your credit card to auto-pay the full balance each month. You get the friction of seeing money leave your account and the protection of never carrying a balance. No app subscription required.

You're Passing Over Simple Opportunities to Invest

Historically speaking, investing has been treated as the domain of men. Sallie Krawcheck, who founded Ellevest specifically to address what she called the "investment gap" for women, spent years making the case that women's exclusion from investment culture represents a staggering loss of equity and financial freedom over time. That case is still entirely correct in 2026.

Note: Ellevest discontinued its automated investing service in April 2025, with accounts transferred to Betterment. Betterment is now one of the strongest entry points for first-time investors, alongside Stash and Acorns, which allow you to start investing for as little as $5. "Many people think you need large sums of money to start investing," says McLay. "Apps like Acorns or Stash allow you to start investing without breaking the bank. Acorns can literally invest your change, while Stash allows you to start investing for as little as $5."

The investment gap is real, and it compounds with every year you wait. Whether it is $5 a month in Acorns or setting up a Roth IRA through Betterment, the best time to start was ten years ago and the second-best time is right now. For a practical starting point, this guide to scheduling a money date with yourself covers exactly how to sit down with your finances and figure out where investing fits in.